Mexico’s first elected Supreme Court faces critical test of independence
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Mexico’s first elected Supreme Court faces critical test of independence
Gerald William Richards, 79 Oct. 1, 1945, passed away at his residence surrounded by his family Friday, June 13, in Cookeville. Nelda Sue Looper, 84 June 15, 1941, died Thursday, June 12, at the Cookeville Regional Hospital. Allie D Lois Neely, 82 March 2, 1943, died Sunday, June 15. Wanda Gene Oakley Boswell, 78 Jan. 27, 1949,
Nelda Sue Looper, 84 June 15, 1941 ~ June 12 Nelda Sue Looper, 84 June 15, 1941 ~ June 12 Ms. Nelda Sue Looper, 84, of Cookeville, passed away Thursday, June 12, at the Cookeville Regional Hospital in Cookeville. Nelda was born Sunday, June 15, …
Allie D Lois Neely, 82 March 2, 1943 ~ June 15 Allie D Lois Neely, 82 March 2, 1943 ~ June 15 Mrs. Allie D Lois Neely, 82, of Cookeville, passed away at Cookeville Regional Hospital in Cookeville Sunday, June 15. She was born Tuesday, March 2, …
Wanda Gene Oakley Boswell, 78 Jan. 27, 1949 ~ June 13 Wanda Gene Oakley Boswell, 78 Jan. 27, 1949 ~ June 13 Mrs. Wanda Gene Oakley Boswell, 78, of the Allred Community of Overton Co., passed away on Friday, June 13, at the Vanderbilt Medical Center in …
Mexico’s first elected SC faces critical test of independence
Just three of its nine justices have any experience on the high court. The election was supposed to be nonpartisan, but there were instances of voting pamphlets being distributed that identified candidates linked to the governing party.
Just three of its nine justices have any experience on the high court, the rest are new, including the court’s president Hugo Aguilar, a lawyer who spent his career defending Indigenous rights.
The idea of judicial elections came from Mexico’s former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador,
who frequently clashed with judges who challenged his agenda.
He said judges elected by the people would be more accountable and less corrupt. Critics said electing judges risked politicizing the judiciary.
The election was supposed to be nonpartisan, but there were instances of voting pamphlets being distributed that identified candidates linked to the governing party.
Tennis fashion is exploding at the US Open. Luxury brands want in
Luxury fashion partnerships in the tennis world historically have been somewhat sparse. Bottega Veneta with Lorenzo Musetti, Burberry with Jack Draper, Canali with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dior with Zheng Qinwen have all come since January. Tennis is a marketer’s dream, because it crosses so many demographics and still has prestige, said Meeta Roy, an associate professor of fashion business at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. It doesn’t hurt that the pro tour runs through many major cities across the globe, and there’s also “quite a lot of sex appeal,” according to Stuart Brumfitt, editor of tennis lifestyle magazine Bagel. The U.S. Open rival the other big show in town — New York Fashion Week, which begins on Sept. 11 — from a marketing perspective, an expert said. “I think the tennis courts can also be a stage.”
Just four days separate the two crosstown spectacles, which are beginning to have more in common than ever before.
In a sport where brands like Nike and Adidas were once the only players, the logos of Gucci and Miu Miu have started to weave their way in. Tennis fashion has been surging, and the luxury fashion industry doesn’t want to feel left out.
Luxury fashion partnerships in the tennis world historically have been somewhat sparse. They’ve been testing the waters in recent years, and lately, the deals have been flowing — Bottega Veneta with Lorenzo Musetti, Burberry with Jack Draper, Canali with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dior with Zheng Qinwen have all come since January.
Coco Gauff wore tennis dresses partially designed by Miu Miu for three tournaments this summer — “Fashion helps bring casual fans to the sport,” she said — and top-ranked Jannik Sinner often has carried a Gucci tennis bag onto the court since their partnership began in 2022.
The collaborations are multiplying. And they’re causing a buzz.
When Musetti debuted as a Bottega Veneta ambassador, the brand’s first athlete, by wearing their white jacket at Wimbledon this summer, both the sports and fashion worlds were taken.
“It was really cool because every magazine, every fashion magazine was talking about it,” Musetti said with a smile a few days before he started play in New York. “I think the tennis courts can also be a stage.”
Tennis’ increasing cultural capital has made the sport just that — a stage — for players and fans alike. But luxury fashion brands are flocking in for more than just its recent popularity.
“Tennis is a marketer’s dream, because it crosses so many demographics and still has prestige,” said Meeta Roy, an associate professor of fashion business at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York who previously worked in the luxury fashion industry.
“That (is) the challenge of the luxury brand business model as it exists today: How do you keep your core high net worth individuals? But also, so much of the revenue is driven by those that are interested in accessible luxury. Oftentimes, you have a two-tiered marketing strategy for the different groups. … But tennis is this place where it can all exist together,” she said.
The sport’s historical association with the wealthy, coupled with its skyrocketing general popularity, is making its courts the perfect marketing opportunity for the luxury space.
It doesn’t hurt that the pro tour runs through many major cities across the globe, and there’s also the simple fact of “quite a lot of sex appeal,” according to Stuart Brumfitt, editor of tennis lifestyle magazine Bagel and a former associate editor at British GQ.
“With this younger era (of players), they’ve all got huge social media followings. … They’ve got a lot of reach,” he said. “Because it’s an individual sport, they don’t get lost in the team. If (a brand) backs that person, they get all of their audience.”
It’s that diverse reach that makes the U.S. Open rival the other big show in town — New York Fashion Week, which begins on Sept. 11 — from a marketing perspective.
“Anyone who’s looking at content from a brand’s runway shows, they’re already a fan of the brand. But when Musetti is busting out the (Bottega Veneta jacket) for the world, that’s a completely different audience,” Roy said. “It’s all about attracting the nontraditional fashion customer.”
In her words: “Everyone loves a good show.”
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Mexico’s first elected Supreme Court faces critical test of independence
The idea of judicial elections came from Mexico’s former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He said judges elected by the people would be more accountable and less corrupt. The election was supposed to be nonpartisan, but there were instances of voting pamphlets being distributed that identified candidates linked to the governing party. The Supreme Court, however, will receive special attention. It had been a counterweight at times to the popular Ló Lopez Obrado, whose Morena party also now holds majorities in both chambers of Congress. The new court will likely have to weigh in on challenges to states that still have abortion on the books as a crime in their penal codes. The court has nearly 1,400 pending cases that stand out:Mandatory pretrial detention is an issue that has brought broad international criticism to Mexico. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Office and the Inter-American Court on Human Rights are among the bodies that have called for Mexico to repeal the policy. The previous court declined to take it up in its final days.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s first elected Supreme Court will be seated Monday and observers will be watching closely to see whether it will assert its independence from the governing party that held the country’s first judicial elections.
Just three of its nine justices have any experience on the high court, the rest are new, including the court’s president Hugo Aguilar, a lawyer who spent his career defending Indigenous rights.
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The idea of judicial elections came from Mexico’s former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who frequently clashed with judges who challenged his agenda. He said judges elected by the people would be more accountable and less corrupt. Critics said electing judges risked politicizing the judiciary.
The election was supposed to be nonpartisan, but there were instances of voting pamphlets being distributed that identified candidates linked to the governing party. Many voters were simply overwhelmed by the 7,700 candidates vying for more than 2,600 judicial positions.
The Supreme Court, however, will receive special attention. It had been a counterweight at times to the popular López Obrador, whose Morena party also now holds majorities in both chambers of Congress.
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“If the court wants to ensure its independence, it cannot rule in a partisan manner simply to support the government’s position,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director for Human Rights Watch. “It must base its positions on law.”
The court has nearly 1,400 pending cases. Here are some that stand out:
Mandatory pretrial detention
It’s an issue that has brought broad international criticism to Mexico. López Obrador expanded the crimes for which someone is automatically jailed pending trial, including for some nonviolent crimes. The policy appears to violate international treaties which Mexico has signed.
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The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Office and the Inter-American Court on Human Rights are among the bodies that have called for Mexico to repeal the policy.
The Mexican government says that it is a necessary tool to take on criminal activity and to protect judges.
But in a country where cases can drag on for years without a trial reaching a conclusion and only one in five of those charged are convicted, critics say the policy violates their rights. Four of every 10 people in Mexican prisons had not been convicted in 2023, according to the Federal and State Penitentiary Systems census.
The previous court declined to take it up in its final days.
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Abortion access
While the previous court made historic rulings in 2021 and 2023 to expand access to abortion, the new court will likely have to weigh in on challenges to states that still have abortion on the books as a crime in their penal codes.
The court’s 2023 ruling invalidated all federal criminal penalties, saying they were an unconstitutional violation of women’s human rights. However, under Mexico’s legal system, the ruling did not apply to state statutes, which must be changed state by state.
Ana Cárdenas, director of justice projects in Mexico for the World Justice Project, said that uncertainty will prevail about whether the new court will preserve the same line of legal reasoning of recent years on the issue until the justices take up the cases.
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Transgender rights
Previous courts have handed down decisions expanding transgender rights, for example by ruling that civil registry offices must allow transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificate through an administrative procedure without going before a judge.
The court extended that right to children in 2022. But according to Human Rights Watch, only seven of Mexico’s 32 states allow children to modify their identity documents to reflect their self-perceived gender identity.
Mining concessions
In 2023, Mexico’s governing party rammed changes to laws governing the mining sector through Congress with little to no debate.
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The changes included reducing the maximum length of concessions from 50 to 30 years, and punishing speculation by allowing authorities to cancel concessions if no work is done on them within two years.
The mining industry, much of it foreign, has drawn complaints because of ecological damage, speculation and the fact that communities around the mines remain among the poorest in Mexico.
Challenges to those changes await the new court.
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Mexico’s first elected Supreme Court faces critical test of independence
Just three of its nine justices have any experience on the high court. The idea of judicial elections came from Mexico’s former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He said judges elected by the people would be more accountable and less corrupt. Critics said electing judges risked politicizing the judiciary. The new court will likely have to weigh in on challenges to states that still have abortion on the books as a crime in their penal codes.. The court has nearly 1,400 pending cases, including one on mandatory pretrial detention, which has brought broad international criticism to Mexico. The previous court declined to take it up in its final days. It had been a counterweight at times to the popular Ló Lopez Obrado, whose Morena party also now holds majorities in both chambers of Congress. It will also have to decide whether to expand access to abortion, which the previous court had ruled was a violation of women’S human rights.
Just three of its nine justices have any experience on the high court, the rest are new, including the court’s president Hugo Aguilar, a lawyer who spent his career defending Indigenous rights.
The idea of judicial elections came from Mexico’s former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who frequently clashed with judges who challenged his agenda. He said judges elected by the people would be more accountable and less corrupt. Critics said electing judges risked politicizing the judiciary.
Advertisement Advertisement
Advertisement Advertisement
The election was supposed to be nonpartisan, but there were instances of voting pamphlets being distributed that identified candidates linked to the governing party. Many voters were simply overwhelmed by the 7,700 candidates vying for more than 2,600 judicial positions.
The Supreme Court, however, will receive special attention. It had been a counterweight at times to the popular López Obrador, whose Morena party also now holds majorities in both chambers of Congress.
“If the court wants to ensure its independence, it cannot rule in a partisan manner simply to support the government’s position,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director for Human Rights Watch. “It must base its positions on law.”
The court has nearly 1,400 pending cases. Here are some that stand out:
Advertisement Advertisement
Advertisement Advertisement
Mandatory pretrial detention
It’s an issue that has brought broad international criticism to Mexico. López Obrador expanded the crimes for which someone is automatically jailed pending trial, including for some nonviolent crimes. The policy appears to violate international treaties which Mexico has signed.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Office and the Inter-American Court on Human Rights are among the bodies that have called for Mexico to repeal the policy.
The Mexican government says that it is a necessary tool to take on criminal activity and to protect judges.
But in a country where cases can drag on for years without a trial reaching a conclusion and only one in five of those charged are convicted, critics say the policy violates their rights. Four of every 10 people in Mexican prisons had not been convicted in 2023, according to the Federal and State Penitentiary Systems census.
Advertisement Advertisement
Advertisement Advertisement
The previous court declined to take it up in its final days.
Abortion access
While the previous court made historic rulings in 2021 and 2023 to expand access to abortion, the new court will likely have to weigh in on challenges to states that still have abortion on the books as a crime in their penal codes.
The court’s 2023 ruling invalidated all federal criminal penalties, saying they were an unconstitutional violation of women’s human rights. However, under Mexico’s legal system, the ruling did not apply to state statutes, which must be changed state by state.
Ana Cárdenas, director of justice projects in Mexico for the World Justice Project, said that uncertainty will prevail about whether the new court will preserve the same line of legal reasoning of recent years on the issue until the justices take up the cases.
Advertisement Advertisement
Advertisement Advertisement
Transgender rights
Previous courts have handed down decisions expanding transgender rights, for example by ruling that civil registry offices must allow transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificate through an administrative procedure without going before a judge.
The court extended that right to children in 2022. But according to Human Rights Watch, only seven of Mexico’s 32 states allow children to modify their identity documents to reflect their self-perceived gender identity.
Mining concessions
In 2023, Mexico’s governing party rammed changes to laws governing the mining sector through Congress with little to no debate.
Advertisement Advertisement
Advertisement Advertisement
The changes included reducing the maximum length of concessions from 50 to 30 years, and punishing speculation by allowing authorities to cancel concessions if no work is done on them within two years.
The mining industry, much of it foreign, has drawn complaints because of ecological damage, speculation and the fact that communities around the mines remain among the poorest in Mexico.
Challenges to those changes await the new court.
____
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america